In 2010, Josh Bailey and his wife, Andrea, founded the Gray Haven Project. The organization helps human trafficking survivors rebuild their lives.

Just 19 out of 100 Virginia House members are women – a far cry from parity in a state where 50.9 percent of the population is female. Underrepresentation is even worse in the 40-member Virginia Senate, where women hold six seats – just 15 percent.

Here is a timeline tracing women’s involvement in politics in Virginia.

The number of women in the Virginia General Assembly has risen steadily over the years. Even so, women still are vastly underrepresented among state legislators.

Of Virginia’s 140 state legislators, 25 — or 17.9 percent — are women. Thirty-seven states have a higher proportion of female lawmakers.

State officials are raising money to build a monument celebrating the achievements of Virginia women on the grounds of the state Capitol.

Almost all of the statues at the state Capitol depict men. No wonder there’s a movement to install a monument honoring achievements by Virginia women.

Americans woke up this morning to headlines saying one of the two Boston Marathon bombing suspects was shot by police and that the other one was still on the run.

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli announced Friday that he will be appointing outside counsel to the Star Scientific case.

Interested and anxious parents and rambunctious and excited students packed the Cultural Arts Center last weekend to share a common interest: home schooling.

Last year around this time, Virginia was in the spotlight: Newspapers and talk show hosts, like comedian Jon Stewart of “The Daily Show,” ripped state legislators for passing a bundle of laws targeting abortion. But during the legislative session that ended last month, there was hardly a peep about the issue from members of the General Assembly.

High school students from Chesterfield, Henrico and Prince William counties and from the cities of Franklin and Martinsville will advance to the FIRST World Robotics Championship after winning a regional competition this past weekend.

Dozens of supporters of same-sex marriage came together Thursday to rally support in Virginia for marriage equality. Gay couples from across the state traveled to Richmond to apply for marriage licenses at the John Marshall Courts Building in what has become a Valentine’s Day tradition.

State legislators and lobbyists battled it out on the basketball court Tuesday night to benefit Virginia Commonwealth University’s Massey Cancer Center.

Brunswick County’s best stew master and crew warmed state officials, including Gov. Bob McDonnell and other visitors, at Capitol Square on Wednesday for the 13th annual Brunswick Stew Day at the General Assembly.

About 100 people, led by the Coalition for Virginians with Mental Disabilities, rallied at the Bell Tower on Capitol Square on Monday to encourage legislators to improve services for people with mental disabilities.

Gov. Bob McDonnell, in conjunction with the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, released an emergency preparedness app for Virginians to use during disasters. The free application for iPhone and Android phones is called Ready Virginia.

Like other states, Virginia has strict age limits to buy cigarettes and alcohol. But young people often have little trouble purchasing those products: About one of every eight stores inspected by the state sells tobacco and booze to underage buyers.

Virginia officials recently celebrated the 225th anniversary of the arrival of the plaster-of-Paris model that was the basis for building the state Capitol. Thomas Jefferson, who designed the Capitol in the Roman temple style, commissioned Frenchman Jean-Pierre Fouquet to make the model and ship it to the newly independent United States of America. It arrived on Feb. 28, 1787, and is still on display for the public.

Thousands of Virginians were “fired up” to see Barack and Michelle Obama at the Democratic presidential campaign’s “Ready to Go Rally” on Saturday. Many people who packed Virginia Commonwealth University’s Siegel Center on Saturday were college students and local supporters. Others came from across the state.

Even for an immigrant community, the Richmond Mixtecs face many significant cultural obstacles. In the mostly Hispanic Sacred Heart congregation, Mixtecs are still a minority of sorts, considering many are fluent in neither English nor Spanish. Like many immigrant communities, religion plays a major role in the lives and culture of the Mixtecs.

In terms of language and culture, the casual observer might not notice much difference between Richmond’s Mixtec community and any other Latin American immigrant group in the city. Neither would the average teacher, school counselor or education specialist. For both the Mixtecs and their allies, however, the distinction is all too evident.

Virginia politicians and women’s rights advocates gathered in Festival Park on Saturday for a rally called “Unite Against the War on Women.”

To save children from potentially fatal reactions to food allergies, Virginia last week adopted a law requiring schools to carry epinephrine auto-injectors, such as EpiPens.

Rainy weather did not stop more than 2,000 people from coming to the 64th annual Shad Planking in Wakefield this afternoon. Former Gov. George Allen was one of many state politicians who attended, seeking an opportunity to network and campaign with people on a personal level.

Richmond today celebrated its third annual Civil War and Emancipation Day to commemorate the end of slavery and Richmond’s role in the “War Between the States.” Here is CNS reporter Sherese Gore’s slideshow about the day’s events.

A national anti-abortion group assembled a graphic display to promote its cause Wednesday in VCU’s Commons Plaza.

The Defenders for Freedom, Justice and Equality want to give the African Burial Ground in Richmond the respect it deserves. First, that means persuading Virginia Commonwealth University to stop using the site as a parking lot.

An unusually active tornado season has wreaked havoc in Virginia and nationwide. On April 16, for example, tornadoes killed three people in Gloucester. Some simple precautions – mainly having a plan – can help keep you safe.

It will be harder to get an abortion in Virginia because of two laws passed by the 2011 General Assembly. One law will prohibit certain private health insurance plans from covering abortions; the other will require clinics that perform abortions to meet hospital standards or shut down.

Anti-abortion activists are cheering and abortion rights activists are steaming over new laws that would regulate abortions in Virginia. A coordinator of the Silent No More Awareness Campaign says the laws will protect women’s health. But an official with NARAL Pro-Choice Virginia says the laws are politically motivated and will restrict abortion access and decrease safety.

American Sign Language courses may grow in popularity and attract more students from different majors under a new state law. It requires Virginia’s public colleges and universities to accept ASL, which is used by deaf people, as a foreign language credit.

Paige Berry is Virginia Commonwealth University’s sign language teacher in the Rehabilitation Counseling Department. She has worked for VCU for 29 years and dedicates her life to communicating with people who are deaf or deaf and blind.

Homeowners, public officials and community groups are fighting blight in Church Hill North — one of Richmond’s historic gems but a neighborhood known for high crime rates and vacant buildings. A new law will give the city another tool to fix decrepit homes that stick out like crooked teeth.

Greg Bristow was working as a heating and air conditioning technician in 2008. But when the economy gave way, so did the job market. Since then, he’s been renovating a 121 year old home in Church Hill.

Nantasha Williams spent the legislative session get lawmakers’ signatures on bills, helping constituents and researching information on complex issues. But Williams isn’t a legislator. She is a college student taking part in the Virginia Capital Semester program.

Students, faculty and staff crowded the Student Commons Plaza on Friday to celebrate Earth Day. This year marked VCU’s fourth celebration of the international event

Several hundred people gathered Sunday at the site of what was once a slave jail for the unveiling of 17 historical markers documenting Richmond’s harsh past as a center for the slave trade.

The Defenders for Freedom, Justice & Equality held an Emancipation Day ceremony at the site of the African Burial Ground in Richmond. The group protested the decision to postpone for a week the unveiling of historical markers for the Richmond Slave Trail.

Ali Velshi has a love-hate relationship with Twitter. Though CNN’s chief business correspondent believes he does a good job on his show, he says you wouldn’t know that from the way people talking about him on Twitter. “People call me everything — fat, ugly, stupid, liberal, conservative, everything. You name it, and I’m fascinated by it,” he said.

Despite the rain and cold, Virginia Commonwealth University students rallied today to send their men’s basketball team off to Houston for the Final Four game on Saturday. Read Alyx Duckett’s story and listen to Matt Birch’s audio coverage.

Want to show your support for the James River Park System? Or tell other people “Don’t Tread on Me”? You’ll soon be able to do that on your license plate.

Gov. Bob McDonnell has announced the revival of the Virginia is for Lovers television crusade, which has been dormant for almost five years. The slogan, which originated 42 years ago, has been one of the nation’s most successful tourism campaigns.

A group of activists have set up camp in the southwest corner of Monroe Park – complete with sleeping bags, tents and even a couch – to protest the proposed renovation of the park.

Hundreds of VCU students, faculty and staff members on Tuesday celebrated VCU Qatar Day, enjoying the sights and sounds of the Middle East — and even a camel — on the Student Commons Plaza.

Capital News Service Radio is back for the Spring 2011 semester. This is a joint venture between the CNS class and VCU’s student radio station, WVCW, championed by Lauren Katchuk and Greg Weatherford.

In an era of ever-changing technology, politicians are reaching out to their constituents through social networking sites like Facebook, and more recently, Twitter. Of the 140 members of Virginia’s General Assembly, 30 have Twitter accounts – five senators and 25 delegates.

David and Tony are among many gay couples across the nation who have traveled to another state to be married while their home state refuses to recognize their union. For couples in such situations, there are several medical and legal concerns.

A gap in the state budget isn’t the only hole Virginia officials are trying to fill. They’re also trying to plug potholes that harsh winter weather has left on roads throughout the commonwealth.

Gov. Bob McDonnell is asking Virginians to help the Virginia Department of Transportation in a “Pothole Blitz” aimed at repairing the damage.

Read Samantha Downing’s story here or in the Gainesville Times.

About 350 people rallied at Virginia Commonwealth University to show their support for diversity and to take a stand against discrimination and hate. The rally was a response to protests conducted around Richmond by Westboro Baptist Church members, who are notorious for making inflammatory remarks about gay people, Jews and other groups.